xumelanie

The October 2006 issue of Consumer Reports has an interesting article about E85. It's titled "The Ethonal Myth." They tested a flexible-fule vehicle with both gasoline and E85. They found that gas milage went down with E85, and they criticized GM for making this technology available with cars that are known for being gas-guzzlers. For several reasons, they concluded that E85 may only fill a small percentage of US energy needs. If you have access to this issue, I recommend giving it a read.

^Technically it's Columbia Township. :)

<sarcasm> Another fine Enquirer moment! </sarcasm> But seriously, $ signs with square feet amounts? Even a high school intern should have caught that!

I don't believe they are talking about closing the current Wal-Mart 2 miles away, but rather opening another Wal-Mart in addition to the one 2 miles away. With the new Wal-Mart being a Superstore, I wouldn't be surprised if they closed the Ridge and Highland location. They may not close it right away, but maybe within a few years. Ugh!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I hope that's not true. :( However, I'm sure the suburbanites would love it.

I wondered about that, too.

^ I agree with the food comment. I miss the old menu. However, their fish and chips are delicious!

I don't think it's quite the same, but it's still good. The beer prices have decreased. :)

I agree....closing Ledgewood was a great move. The new student center is definitely a big improvement over the old one. They redid both the academic mall and the residential mall when I was a student. Both were improvements.

I vaguely remember this. My brother was a student at the time, and he was stuck on campus for a while.

Downtown Cincinnati parking, especially after business hours, is very cheap compared to other cities. Plus, people seem to have no problem paying $3-$5 parking at Newport on the Levee. The director of the square was on City Talk radio a couple of months ago. He mentioned that several businesses around the square will validate parking, so that will make it even cheaper.

It's good to hear that Norwood is actually supporting the university now. I was a student when the Cintas Center was discussed, and the city of Norwood put up a huge fight against it. Back then, almost every business in Norwood had horrible service, and several students sensed a dislike of XU students from them. I did almost all of my grocery shopping in Hyde Park because of this, and I remember many other students did the same thing. I was surprised that more businesses in Norwood did not offer a student discount then or at least seemed somewhat supportive of the students. They could have received a lot of business then. I wonder if this has changed. I always felt that Norwood missed out on a lot of business because of their attitude.

I don't think so. I've seen kids there in the past, and I believe they give out wrist bands to those who want to drink.

I went down there myself. I think it is a great project but the condo fees are too high. Amen. Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous ... for what!? Security, upkeep, cutting the lawn? I don't think the condo fees seem too out of line with other downtown condos, which tend to be higher than surburban condos. It pays for the upkeep of the building, security, maintaining the common areas, insurance of the outside of the building. My condo fees will be around $300 a month. I thought that seemed pretty steep, but it does include water and parking and a few other things. Plus, utilities and homeowners insurance is usually cheaper in a condo. After owning a house for three years, I can say that you easily spend that much maintaining a house. These condos look pretty cool. I can't wait to see them. :)

I really liked the pigs. I wish they would have the big pig gig again. :) I took several pictures, but I don't know where they are right now. :( If I find them, I'll have to scan them, but I will then post them.

There is a big celebration going on right now at Government Square. :)

Ink, I thought the same thing.

I remember playing with that Fisher Price set as a kid!!!!! :D When I was in grade school, my mom took me to down town Cincinnati a lot. Many Saturdays we would go down town to eat lunch, do some shopping, and stop at the public library to return books and pick up more. I even have a few memories of going to meet my dad during his lunch break during the week. When I had an internship down town during college, I realized how neat it was to be able to walk to shops during lunch. I loved the fact I had several lunch options without needing a car. When it was time to find a full-time job after college, one of my priorities was finding something downtown.

They are now painting the back of the building and adding the tiny balconies!!

Great song! It was originally done by a Canadian band named Cub. However, the TMBG version is better. :)

Why would they prevent buses from being allow? There's a good chance potential employees would need transportation to get to work. I know some people say that the buses are responsible for the decline of Western Hills Plaza. They say it brings undesirables to the area. I'm just repeating what I've heard people say - I don't necessarily agree with this myself. Buses have been going through Western Hills Plaza (and many other shopping centers) for years. I have a hard time believing this is responsible for the problems there.

I think so, too. It would be cool if they filled some of the vacant space in Tower Place with stuff geared towards down town residents. :)

The rumor I heard is that a law firm has purchased the building west of the McAlpin. Someone appears to be doing a lot of work with that building as well.

^That seems a bit short-sighted and well, naive. In metropolitan areas with healthy central cities, the "older" housing in-town commands an enormous premium over the vinyl-sided crap in the suburbs. The problem isn't one of age or marketing or anything else superficial. It's a problem of subsidizing new suburban construction while neglecting the inner cities. Yeah until the house has foundation problems, and that's not a cheap fix. Houses in the city are on avg a lot smaller, they don't have the open floor plans that are popular these days. Not to say that suburban houses aren't going to deteriorate the same way (most likely quicker) but there's several things holding city housing stock back. I agree subsidizing suburban construction is a huge reason for sprawl but we would need a much higher subsidization in cities to achieve the same thing. Age isn't a superficial concept at all. Age takes a toll on houses. My current house was built in 1921. I am willing to bet that very few of the new McMansions being built will not last for 85 years. Sure, there are things here and there, but I know people who are forking out tons of money on repairs in newer homes as well.

I'm making the same assumption. I agree...they need a visitors center for downtown. Near or around Fountain Square is the perfect location.